When the volume of the pulpwood was determined from the dimensions of the stack, the practice was to add an agreed percentage to the height of the stack which took account of the sinking of the stack as the wood dried. The stack was piled to the agreed added height, or the percentage was compensated when the stack was delivered to the buyer. The aim of the study was to determine a more accurate percentage to be used in the pulpwood sales.

The dimensions of a stack of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst) pulpwood and the diameter of each log was measured during the drying. The 223 cm high pile sank by 0.8% to 221 cm, and the stacked cubic meter decreased from 4.46 m3 to 4.42 m3. However, the shrinkage of a solid cubic meter of the wood was 2.8%, markedly more than the sinking of the stack.